Komsomolskaya-Koltsevaya
Encyclopedia
Komsomolskaya is a Moscow Metro
station in the Krasnoselsky District
, Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow
. It is on the Koltsevaya Line
, between Prospekt Mira and Kurskaya stations.
The station is noted for its being located under the busiest Moscow transport hub, Komsomolskaya Square
, which serves Leningradsky, Yaroslavsky
and Kazansky
railway terminals. Because of that the station is one of the busiest in the whole system and is the most loaded one on the line. It opened on 30 January 1952 as a part of the second stage of the line.
, the northern segment (Belorusskaya-Koltsevaya
to Komsomolskaya) was dedicated to the theme of post-war labour. Komsomolskaya, however, is a clear exception: lead designer Alexey Shchusev
designed it as an illustration of a historical speech given by Joseph Stalin
November 7, 1941. In this speech, Stalin evoked the memories of Alexander Nevsky
, Dmitry Donskoy and other military leaders of the past, and all these historical figures eventually appeared on the mosaic
s of Komsomolskaya.
Early roots of the station's design can be traced to a 1944 draft by Shchusev implemented in pure Petrine baroque
, a local adaptation of the 17th century Dutch Golden Age
. However, after the end of World War II the drafts of 1944 were discarded and the stations of the Koltsevaya Line were completed in the mainstream late stalinist
style of the period. Shchusev however, who died in 1949, retained his baroque nonce order.
Komsomolskaya remained Shchusev's first and only metro station design. The station was initially planned as a traditional deep pylon type
. Later, Shchusev replaced the heavy concrete
pylons with narrow octagonal steel columns, riveted with marble
tiles, creating the larger open space.
After Shchusev's death, the station was completed by Viktor Kokorin, A. Zabolotnaya, V. Varvarin and O. Velikoretsky and Pavel Korin
, the creator of the mosaics.
topped by a cupola
, and a spire
crowned by a large star and imposing full-height portico
with stylised Corinthian columns
. Inside amid the Baroque
-style ornaments, rich torchères and chandelier lights, two escalators descend, one leading to the old 1935 Komsomolskaya-Radialnaya
station, and the second to this one.
Once on the platform level, the full details of this deep column station
built to special design on a monolithic plan become apparent; there is an imposing Baroque ceiling, with accompanying friezes, painted yellow. Supporting the enlarged barrel vault
are 68 octagonal columns faced with white marble, and topped with baroque pilasters. The platform is lit up by chandeliers and additional concealed elements in the niches of both the central and platform halls.
The theme of the design, the Historical Russian fight
for freedom and independence, is expressed in eight large ceiling mosaics by Pavel Korin. Korin said that the inspiration came from Joseph Stalin's speech at the Moscow Parade of 1941, where he inspired the soldiers amid the catastrophic losses in the early period of World War II
to remember the historical heroics of their Russian forefathers. The idea to design the art as a mosaic came from the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev
, where Korin saw that such artforms could last for eternity. Chronologically the mosaics are as following:
However the artistic decoration does not stop there, for in between each of the mosaics there are further ones made of gilded smalt
depicting various weaponry and armour: one set is focused on ancient Russian equipment, a second on the Napoleonic era, the third on WWII. At the end of the platform is a bust of Vladimir Lenin under an arch decorated with gilt floral designs and the Coat of arms of the Soviet Union
.
In the centre of the red granite covered platform are two passageways, surrounded by marble balustrades with escalators that descend into a lobby with a main escalator tunnel upwards to the Sokolnicheskaya Line
's Komsomolskaya station. On the wall opposite the escalator is a large fluorescent mosaic, also of Pavel Korin, depicting the Order of Victory
surrounded by red and green banners and Georgian colours.
In 1951 both Pavel Korin and Alexey Schusev (posthumously) were awarded the Stalin Prize for their works on the station, and on 30 January 1952 the station was opened to the public as the first on the second stage of the Koltsevaya line. In 1958 the station was awarded the Grand Prix ("Grand Prize") title of Expo '58
in Brussels
.
Moscow Metro
The Moscow Metro is a rapid transit system serving Moscow and the neighbouring town of Krasnogorsk. Opened in 1935 with one line and 13 stations, it was the first underground railway system in the Soviet Union. As of 2011, the Moscow Metro has 182 stations and its route length is . The system is...
station in the Krasnoselsky District
Krasnoselsky District
Krasnoselsky District is the name of several administrative and municipal districts in Russia.*Krasnoselsky District, Moscow, a district in Central Administrative Okrug of Moscow...
, Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. It is on the Koltsevaya Line
Koltsevaya Line
The Koltsevaya Line , , is a railway line of the Moscow Metro. The line was built in 1950-1954 encircling the central Moscow, and became crucial to the transfer patterns of passengers....
, between Prospekt Mira and Kurskaya stations.
The station is noted for its being located under the busiest Moscow transport hub, Komsomolskaya Square
Komsomolskaya Square (Moscow)
Komsomolskaya Square , known as Kalanchyovskaya before 1932, is one of the busiest squares in Moscow, noted for its impressive blend of revivalist Tsarist and Stalinist architecture...
, which serves Leningradsky, Yaroslavsky
Yaroslavsky Rail Terminal
Yaroslavsky Rail Terminal is one of the nine railway terminals in Moscow, situated on the Komsomolskaya Square. It has the highest passenger throughput of all the nine Moscow rail terminals, serving eastern destinations, including the Russian Far East. It is the terminus of the Trans-Siberian...
and Kazansky
Kazansky Rail Terminal
Kazansky Rail Terminal is one of nine rail terminals in Moscow, situated on the Komsomolskaya Square, across the square from the Leningradsky and Yaroslavsky terminals....
railway terminals. Because of that the station is one of the busiest in the whole system and is the most loaded one on the line. It opened on 30 January 1952 as a part of the second stage of the line.
Evolution of the design
While the first southern segment of the Koltsevaya Line were dedicated to the victory over Nazi GermanyNazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, the northern segment (Belorusskaya-Koltsevaya
Belorusskaya-Koltsevaya
Belorusskaya is a station on the Moscow Metro's Koltsevaya Line. It is named after the nearby Belorussky Rail Terminal. It opened in 1952, serving briefly as the terminus of the line before the circle was completed in 1954...
to Komsomolskaya) was dedicated to the theme of post-war labour. Komsomolskaya, however, is a clear exception: lead designer Alexey Shchusev
Alexey Shchusev
Alexey Viktorovich Shchusev ), 1873, Chişinău—24 May 1949, Moscow) was an acclaimed Russian and Soviet architect whose works may be regarded as a bridge connecting Revivalist architecture of Imperial Russia with Stalin's Empire Style....
designed it as an illustration of a historical speech given by Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
November 7, 1941. In this speech, Stalin evoked the memories of Alexander Nevsky
Alexander Nevsky
Alexander Nevsky was the Prince of Novgorod and Grand Prince of Vladimir during some of the most trying times in the city's history. Commonly regarded as the key figure of medieval Rus, Alexander was the grandson of Vsevolod the Big Nest and rose to legendary status on account of his military...
, Dmitry Donskoy and other military leaders of the past, and all these historical figures eventually appeared on the mosaic
Mosaic
Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...
s of Komsomolskaya.
Early roots of the station's design can be traced to a 1944 draft by Shchusev implemented in pure Petrine baroque
Petrine Baroque
Petrine Baroque is a name applied by art historians to a style of Baroque architecture and decoration favoured by Peter the Great and employed to design buildings in the newly-founded Russian capital, Saint Petersburg, under this monarch and his immediate successors.Unlike contemporaneous Naryshkin...
, a local adaptation of the 17th century Dutch Golden Age
Dutch Golden Age
The Golden Age was a period in Dutch history, roughly spanning the 17th century, in which Dutch trade, science, military and art were among the most acclaimed in the world. The first half is characterised by the Eighty Years' War till 1648...
. However, after the end of World War II the drafts of 1944 were discarded and the stations of the Koltsevaya Line were completed in the mainstream late stalinist
Stalinist architecture
Stalinist architecture , also referred to as Stalinist Gothic, or Socialist Classicism, is a term given to architecture of the Soviet Union between 1933, when Boris Iofan's draft for Palace of the Soviets was officially approved, and 1955, when Nikita Khrushchev condemned "excesses" of the past...
style of the period. Shchusev however, who died in 1949, retained his baroque nonce order.
Komsomolskaya remained Shchusev's first and only metro station design. The station was initially planned as a traditional deep pylon type
Pylon station
The pylon station is a type of deep underground subway station. The basic distinguishing characteristic of the pylon station is the manner of division of the central hall from the station tunnels...
. Later, Shchusev replaced the heavy concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
pylons with narrow octagonal steel columns, riveted with marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
tiles, creating the larger open space.
After Shchusev's death, the station was completed by Viktor Kokorin, A. Zabolotnaya, V. Varvarin and O. Velikoretsky and Pavel Korin
Pavel Korin
Pavel Dmitriyevich Korin was a Russian painter and art restorer. He is famous for his preparational work for the unimplemented painting Farewell to Rus.-Life and career:...
, the creator of the mosaics.
Architecture and decoration
Beginning with the large vestibule located among the former of the two train stations, the building features an immense octagonal domeDome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
topped by a cupola
Cupola
In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome....
, and a spire
Spire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
crowned by a large star and imposing full-height portico
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
with stylised Corinthian columns
Corinthian order
The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
. Inside amid the Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
-style ornaments, rich torchères and chandelier lights, two escalators descend, one leading to the old 1935 Komsomolskaya-Radialnaya
Komsomolskaya-Radialnaya
Komsomolskaya is a Moscow Metro station in the Krasnoselsky District, Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow. It is on the Sokolnicheskaya Line, between Krasnye Vorota and Krasnoselskaya stations. It is located under Komsomolskaya Square, between the Leningradsky, Yaroslavsky, and Kazansky railway...
station, and the second to this one.
Once on the platform level, the full details of this deep column station
Deep column station
The deep column station is a type of subway station, consisting of a central hall with two side halls, connected by ring-like passages between a row of columns...
built to special design on a monolithic plan become apparent; there is an imposing Baroque ceiling, with accompanying friezes, painted yellow. Supporting the enlarged barrel vault
Barrel vault
A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault or a wagon vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve along a given distance. The curves are typically circular in shape, lending a semi-cylindrical appearance to the total design...
are 68 octagonal columns faced with white marble, and topped with baroque pilasters. The platform is lit up by chandeliers and additional concealed elements in the niches of both the central and platform halls.
The theme of the design, the Historical Russian fight
History of Russia
The history of Russia begins with that of the Eastern Slavs and the Finno-Ugric peoples. The state of Garðaríki , which was centered in Novgorod and included the entire areas inhabited by Ilmen Slavs, Veps and Votes, was established by the Varangian chieftain Rurik in 862...
for freedom and independence, is expressed in eight large ceiling mosaics by Pavel Korin. Korin said that the inspiration came from Joseph Stalin's speech at the Moscow Parade of 1941, where he inspired the soldiers amid the catastrophic losses in the early period of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
to remember the historical heroics of their Russian forefathers. The idea to design the art as a mosaic came from the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev
Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev
Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev is an outstanding architectural monument of Kievan Rus'. Today, it is one of the city's best known landmarks and the first Ukrainian patrimony to be inscribed on the World Heritage List along with the Kiev Cave Monastery complex...
, where Korin saw that such artforms could last for eternity. Chronologically the mosaics are as following:
- 1242: Alexander Nevsky after the Battle on the Ice.
- 1380: Dmitry Donskoy after the Battle of KulikovoBattle of KulikovoThe Battle of Kulikovo was a battle between Tatar Mamai and Muscovy Dmitriy and portrayed by Russian historiography as a stand-off between Russians and the Golden Horde. However, the political situation at the time was much more complicated and concerned the politics of the Northeastern Rus'...
. - 1612: Kuzma Minin and Dmitry PozharskyDmitry PozharskyFor the ship of the same name, see Sverdlov class cruiserDmitry Mikhaylovich Pozharsky was a Rurikid prince, who led Russia's struggle for independence against Polish-Lithuanian invasion known as the Time of Troubles...
after the end of the Time of TroublesTime of TroublesThe Time of Troubles was a period of Russian history comprising the years of interregnum between the death of the last Russian Tsar of the Rurik Dynasty, Feodor Ivanovich, in 1598, and the establishment of the Romanov Dynasty in 1613. In 1601-1603, Russia suffered a famine that killed one-third...
. - 1799: Alexander SuvorovAlexander SuvorovAlexander Vasilyevich Suvorov , Count Suvorov of Rymnik, Prince in Italy, Count of the Holy Roman Empire , was the fourth and last generalissimo of the Russian Empire.One of the few great generals in history who never lost a battle along with the likes of Alexander...
after the Crossing of the AlpsSuvorov's Italian and Swiss expeditionThe Italian and Swiss expeditions of 1799 and 1800 were undertaken by the Russian commander Alexander Suvorov against French forces in Piedmont and Switzerland as part of the Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars in general and the War of the Second Coalition in particular.-Italian...
. - 1812: Mikhail Kutuzov after the Battle of BorodinoBattle of BorodinoThe Battle of Borodino , fought on September 7, 1812, was the largest and bloodiest single-day action of the French invasion of Russia and all Napoleonic Wars, involving more than 250,000 troops and resulting in at least 70,000 casualties...
. - 1945: The original mosaic here was of Red Army troops on Red SquareRed SquareRed Square is a city square in Moscow, Russia. The square separates the Kremlin, the former royal citadel and currently the official residence of the President of Russia, from a historic merchant quarter known as Kitai-gorod...
receiving the Guards bannerGuards unitGuards units are elite units and formations in the armed forces of the former Soviet Union, Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. These units were awarded Guards status after distinguishing themselves in service, and are considered to have elite status. The Guards designation originated during the...
from Soviet army command, yet because it contained images of some commanders whose careers and legacy would later be re-evaluated (including Joseph Stalin) most of the mosaic was replaced with that of Vladimir LeninVladimir LeninVladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
addressing a meeting in Red Square, thus moving the date of the artwork to a period between 1917 and 1922. - 1945: Soviet Troops on the Reichstag building after the Battle of BerlinBattle of BerlinThe Battle of Berlin, designated the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, was the final major offensive of the European Theatre of World War II....
(according to some, the original banner had superimposed profiles of Lenin and Stalin: the latter was removed to leave just Lenin remaining). - 1945: The original image was of a Victory paradeVictory paradeA victory parade is a type of parade held in order to celebrate a victory. Because of that, victory parades can be divided into military victory parades and more frequent sport victory parades....
with Soviet soldiers throwing captured Nazi banners in front of Lenin's mausoleumLenin's MausoleumLenin's Mausoleum also known as Lenin's Tomb, situated in Red Square in the center of Moscow, is the mausoleum that serves as the current resting place of Vladimir Lenin. His embalmed body has been on public display there since shortly after his death in 1924...
. However for the same reason as the sixth image, this image would hold the record for retouchingsCensorship of images in the Soviet UnionAfter Joseph Stalin rose to power in the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and became Soviet leader, he initiated a number of purges that eliminated perceived enemies. At first, a purge meant expulsion from the Communist Party, but after the Great Purge in the 1930s members were arrested,...
. First when Lavrenty Beria was arrested in 1953, his glasses were erased and then the whole figure was removed. Then in 1957, after the political crisis saw the end of the careers of Vyacheslav MolotovVyacheslav MolotovVyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov was a Soviet politician and diplomat, an Old Bolshevik and a leading figure in the Soviet government from the 1920s, when he rose to power as a protégé of Joseph Stalin, to 1957, when he was dismissed from the Presidium of the Central Committee by Nikita Khrushchev...
and Lazar KaganovichLazar KaganovichLazar Moiseyevich Kaganovich was a Soviet politician and administrator and one of the main associates of Joseph Stalin.-Early life:Kaganovich was born in 1893 to Jewish parents in the village of Kabany, Radomyshl uyezd, Kiev Governorate, Russian Empire...
, their images followed suit. Finally, after 1961 brought the end of Stalin's personality cultCult of personalityA cult of personality arises when an individual uses mass media, propaganda, or other methods, to create an idealized and heroic public image, often through unquestioning flattery and praise. Cults of personality are usually associated with dictatorships...
, in early 1963 the whole panel was taken down and Korin re-designed it by placing a maiden (symbolising Mother RussiaMother RussiaMother Russia is a national personification of Russia, appearing in patriotic posters, statues etc. In the Soviet period, the term Mother Motherland was preferred, as representing the multi-ethnic Soviet Union; still, there is a clear similarity between the pre-1917 Mother Russia and the Soviet...
) standing on the Nazi banners in front of the same mausoleum, holding a hammer and sickleHammer and sickleThe hammer and sickle is a part of communist symbolism and its usage indicates an association with Communism, a Communist party, or a Communist state. It features a hammer and a sickle overlapping each other. The two tools are symbols of the industrial proletariat and the peasantry; placing them...
in one hand and a palm branch in the other. This final one alone is made of more than 300 thousand mosaic tiles and takes up 31.5 square metres and weighs more than three tonnes.
However the artistic decoration does not stop there, for in between each of the mosaics there are further ones made of gilded smalt
Smalt
Smalt is powdered glass, colored to a deep powder blue hue using cobalt ions derived from cobalt oxide . Smalt is used as a pigment in painting, and for surface decoration of other types of glass and ceramics, and other media...
depicting various weaponry and armour: one set is focused on ancient Russian equipment, a second on the Napoleonic era, the third on WWII. At the end of the platform is a bust of Vladimir Lenin under an arch decorated with gilt floral designs and the Coat of arms of the Soviet Union
Coat of arms of the Soviet Union
The State Emblem of the Soviet Union was adopted in 1923 and was used until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Although it technically is an emblem rather than a coat of arms, since it does not follow heraldic rules, in Russian it is called герб , the word used for a traditional coat of...
.
In the centre of the red granite covered platform are two passageways, surrounded by marble balustrades with escalators that descend into a lobby with a main escalator tunnel upwards to the Sokolnicheskaya Line
Sokolnicheskaya Line
The Sokolnicheskaya Line is the first line of the Moscow Metro, dating back to 1935 when the system opened. Presently the line has 19 stations with a total of of track...
's Komsomolskaya station. On the wall opposite the escalator is a large fluorescent mosaic, also of Pavel Korin, depicting the Order of Victory
Order of Victory
The Order of Victory was the highest military decoration in the Soviet Union, and one of the rarest orders in the world. The order was awarded only to Generals and Marshals for successfully conducting combat operations involving one or more army groups and resulting in a "successful operation...
surrounded by red and green banners and Georgian colours.
In 1951 both Pavel Korin and Alexey Schusev (posthumously) were awarded the Stalin Prize for their works on the station, and on 30 January 1952 the station was opened to the public as the first on the second stage of the Koltsevaya line. In 1958 the station was awarded the Grand Prix ("Grand Prize") title of Expo '58
Expo '58
Expo 58, also known as the Brussels World’s Fair, Brusselse Wereldtentoonstelling or Exposition Universelle et Internationale de Bruxelles, was held from 17 April to 19 October 1958...
in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
.